13 Secret Michigan Highways That Cross Belle Isle in Detroit

Belle Isle in the Detroit River is one of Michigan's better known tourist attractions. The island is nearly 3 miles in length. There are many roads that cross the park. Unknown to almost every Michigan resident, each of them is a secret state highway.

There are 13 unsigned M-numbered highways on Belle Island.

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The highways were designated in 2013 when the state's Department of Natural Resources took over management of the park from the city of Detroit.

Each roadway inside the park became a state highway. Just like nearby highways like M-1/Woodward Avenue or M-3/Gratiot Ave, the streets of Belle Isle are all M-routes, but numbers unlike anything else in the state's highway system.

The Belle Isle highways are M-700 to M-712.

M-700 is the longest highway on the island at 5.5 miles. it begins on the mainland as Grand Blvd crosses Jefferson Ave across the MacArthur Bridge onto Belle Island. M-700 loops around most of the island.

The next longest street is M-701. At 1.9 miles, the highways follows Central Avenue across the midsection of Belle Isle.

Many of the other highways on the island are less than a mile - even just a few feet.

The shortest highway on the island is M-711. It is just 0.05 miles and follows Vista Avenue. The highway is so short, it can easily be captured in a single shot - this looking northbound towards mainland Detroit:

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This map shows each of the 13 routes on Belle Island.

Editor's Note: This article inspired by the richly detailed Michigan Highways website maintained by Chris Bessert.